Liu She Leaves the Snake

Watching the constant undulation within Liu Snake’s body, Jin Ze was momentarily stunned. Then, he immediately stood up and said to me, “Chen Mu, step back quickly.”

I instinctively took a step backward, and Jin Ze also retreated a few steps, positioning himself in front of me.

Standing behind Jin Ze, I felt a sudden surge of security and my fear diminished. I quickly asked, “Jin Ze, what’s going on with Liu Snake? Is he about to evolve into some kind of cyborg? Could it be that the Dawn Organization carried out some grotesque experiment and modified his body?”

Jin Ze glanced at me. Although he seemed a bit regretful for not catching the culprit, he still offered me a reassuring smile and replied, “Chen Mu, you really have an imagination worthy of a writer. While the Dawn Organization is indeed engaged in many inhumane experiments, it’s unlikely Liu Snake’s body was altered into some kind of bio-weapon. It’s more probable that some compound was injected into him, causing a chemical reaction in his bloodstream that led to the spasms in his muscles and tendons. But my judgment tells me something more akin to a parasite is inside him, trying to break free.”

I shuddered at the thought, unable to hide my aversion to insects and parasites. Still, my curiosity overrode my revulsion—how could this have happened? He hadn’t been dead for long; there was no way corpse worms could have developed so quickly.

Unable to make sense of it, I changed the subject and asked, “Jin Ze, how did you know I was here? And why did you come alone? If you’d brought more officers, maybe you could have caught that maniac.”

Jin Ze looked at me and said, “There are no ‘what ifs’ in this world. If you hadn’t acted alone, if you’d told me everything, the end of this story would be different.”

His words left me a little embarrassed, a blush creeping up my cheeks. Clearly, nothing escapes his scrutiny, and I was at a loss for how to explain myself.

But Jin Ze smiled gently, continuing, “Chen Mu, I’m not blaming you. You must have had your reasons. All I want to say is, once something has happened, we can’t undo it. What we can do is choose how things unfold from here.”

I nodded, understanding his point. He was trying to guide me: even if I truly was once a killer, I needed to face myself, because the past couldn’t be changed—but I could decide what I did with my future. Perhaps, for someone like me, atonement would come through meritorious deeds.

But could someone as unforgivable as ‘me’ really be worthy of redemption?

As I pondered this, Jin Ze suddenly asked, “Chen Mu, did something happen that made you start doubting the police?”

His insight was truly remarkable. It was indeed the video Liu Snake had shown me that made me waver, or I wouldn’t have acted on my own. Still, I wasn’t ready to tell Jin Ze about it, so I shook my head.

Jin Ze didn’t press further. He simply continued, “Chen Mu, I know you’ve started to keep your guard up around us, but I hope you’ll listen to your heart. Deep down, you still want to cooperate with us. In fact, it was your remaining trust in us that saved your life tonight.”

Puzzled, I looked at Jin Ze and asked what he meant.

He quickly pulled out a phone—my phone. After receiving Liu Snake’s message summoning me to Swallow’s Nook, I’d hidden my phone under the mattress at the hotel, fearing the police would trace me.

But Jin Ze told me, “You may have left your phone behind to avoid being tracked, but perhaps, on some level, you wanted us to find you. Deep down, you lack a sense of security. I found your hotel, searched your room, and discovered your phone. From the messages, I learned you’d come here—so I rushed over as soon as I could. As for backup, I notified Chief Fang, but reinforcements couldn’t arrive that quickly.”

Hearing this, I was truly impressed by Jin Ze’s psychological acumen. I had to admit he was right—I had my reservations about the police, but subconsciously, I still believed only they could protect me.

Caught so completely, I suddenly felt awkward, like a child caught misbehaving, unable to meet his eyes.

Then Jin Ze suddenly grasped my wrist and pulled me toward the door.

Once I had steadied myself at the doorway, I realized Liu Snake’s skin was now completely stretched open. A bulge, thicker than my thumb, was rising from his body, as if something inside was desperately burrowing out.

Suddenly, with a wet, sickening pop, Liu Snake’s skin ruptured—and to my horror, a snake’s head forced its way out of the wound.

The snake, flicking its crimson tongue, slithered rapidly out of Liu Snake’s body. In its wake, a thick, bloody sludge spilled out—flesh, but not the kind you’d expect from a human body. It resembled minced meat, a grotesque, pulpy mess.

Stunned, I watched as several more wet cracks sounded from inside Liu Snake’s clothes, and more snakes began to wriggle free.

I recoiled instinctively, clutching Jin Ze’s hand in fear. He squeezed my hand, silently reassuring me, and only after Liu Snake’s body finally stilled did he use a broom to herd the snakes into a corner.

At that moment, hurried footsteps sounded outside, and Chief Fang Qinghe arrived with several officers in tow.

I breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of them.

Miao Miao was there too. I had to admit, she was truly unflappable—a striking beauty, yet utterly unafraid of snakes.

Donning a pair of leather gloves, she strode over and removed Liu Snake’s shirt. As soon as the shirt came off, several more snakes wriggled out, but the other officers quickly drove them into a corner.

When I saw Liu Snake’s bare torso, I was utterly shocked. His flesh was a mangled, bloody ruin—riddled with holes, from which the meaty pulp oozed out, every wound torn open by the snakes from within.

Suddenly, Miao Miao flipped his corpse over, and the sight made my scalp crawl.

Damn—running from the base of his skull down to his waist was a long, black-stitched scar, as if he’d been sewn up like a row of buttons on a coat.

Miao Miao deftly used surgical forceps to unpick the black stitches. As the line was opened, my horror deepened: Liu Snake’s skin split in two and peeled away to either side, as though he’d been flayed alive.

Several officers turned away, unable to bear the sight, some covering their mouths in revulsion.

Chief Fang, not wanting me to witness such depravity, patted my shoulder, signaling me to look away. But I couldn’t help but sneak a glance from the corner of my eye.

I saw Miao Miao part Liu Snake’s entire skin, laying it open to both sides. There was barely any flesh left on his skeleton; most had been reduced to meaty mush, some of it dripping down, some clinging stickily to the bones.

What nauseated me most was that two snakes were still writhing inside the pulpy mess of his remains.

Then Miao Miao spoke: “Time of death is roughly two hours ago. The victim was skinned alive—an incision was made at the back of his neck, and his skin was peeled away while he was still conscious. The killer then stripped the flesh from his bones, ground it into a pulp, and stuffed it back into the body. At the same time, dozens of snakes were also placed inside, and the wound was sewn up. I don’t know if the intent was to feed the snakes with the victim’s flesh, or if there was some other purpose.”

At these words, a young officer ran outside to vomit. My own stomach heaved with disgust—this was beyond depraved.

I knew who had done this—the madman—so refined in appearance, so monstrous in deed. This was the most grotesque murder yet, a testament to the killer’s boundless hatred for Liu Snake.

Was it because Liu Snake had tried to manipulate me that the murderer wanted to torment him so cruelly? Whatever the reason, Liu Snake’s end was as fitting as his name—he died with snakes inside him. Only a fiend could conceive such a terrifying method of murder.

As I pondered this, Miao Miao suddenly grabbed one of the brown snakes writhing in the meat pulp. Pinching it behind the head, she swiftly sliced open its belly with a scalpel.

To my shock, from the slit belly spilled not only fresh human pulp, but also a wax pellet.

She methodically did the same to the other snakes. At first, I thought their swollen bellies were simply filled with meat, but to my astonishment, each one contained a wax pellet.

There had to be clues inside those pellets. The realization sent a chill through me.

This was clearly the work of that madman. I’d assumed his escape had been panicked, but now I saw how wrong I was. He’d done this deliberately—playing his twisted game again, creating a murder scene and leaving us clues, luring us ever further into his deadly puzzle.